Putin said the Russia attack involving 90 missiles and 100 drones also included the “Oreshnik” – a new ballistic missile which, according to Putin, cannot be intercepted.
US officials believe Russia is likely only to have a small number of the experimental Oreshnik missiles and would need time to produce more of them.
Responding in his nightly address, Zelensky said Putin “has no interest in ending this war” and sought to “prevent others from ending this war”.
“[His] escalation now is a form of pressure aimed at eventually forcing the president of the United States to accept Russia’s terms.”
The Russian leader also said Moscow would not allow Ukraine to get nuclear weapons, and if it ever did, would use “all means of destruction at Russia’s disposal”, according to Russia’s state-run news agency RIA.
This is thought to be a reference to reports in the New York Times newspaper last week that unnamed Western officials had suggested giving Ukraine nuclear weapons before US President Joe Biden leaves office in January.
Zelensky has also repeatedly complained that the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, by which Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons inherited from the USSR, had left the country without the necessary security.